External Bone Fixation (EBF) devices are employed in the treatment of bone deformity and acute trauma. Typical EBF devices use circular rings that surround a patient's limb. Adjustable connection rods and struts are employed to connect the circular rings together. Current connection rods have only a conical range of seven degrees (7°) and struts have only an average of forty-seven degrees (47±10°), which reduces the functionality of the rods and struts, limiting the ability to connect circular rings together. Half pins and wires are employed to attach the circular rings to a patient's bone to stabilize the bone while the bone or bones are being corrected or healing. The half pins and wires attach to the EBF device at one or two points and are either drilled into or through a bone.
One well-known reconstructive EBF system is the Ilizarov frame, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,365,624; 4,615,338; 4,978,348; 5,702,389 and 5,971,984. The Ilizarov frame uses a combination of circular frames, pins and wires for deformity correction.